Yeah, so, we referenced WuTang lyrics, we couldn’t help ourselves, it was too easy. But seriously, WUJI in Greenwich was full of surprises that truly did make it “nuthin to f@$k with.”

The first surprise is we went there on a Tuesday night and the dining room was packed. Random? Or was it because the food is really that good? We were about to find out . . .

Second surprise: At a Chinese restaurant it’s rare to get a free starter (like bread) to snack on at the table while you peruse the menu, but imagine our delight when out came some crispy and flaky fried noodles with your choice of duck sauce, mustard, or soy dipping sauces. Yum!Continue reading →

Nestor left Mason Dixon in early January. He does have future plans and things in the works.

Mason Dixon was closed yesterday for mechanical issues, but they are up and running and are open for lunch right now.

The new Pitmaster, Ryan Cuber, has been working with Nestor since opening and had a BBQ catering company of his own, Savory Smoke Catering.

Ryan left and, soon after, they closed for good.

Once upon a time, Mason Dixon was a line that clearly divided the North and South, but now–in Stamford–Mason Dixon is a Smokehouse that clearly divides killer BBQ from, um, well, pretty much all the rest. Yup, as we shared back on October 1, Pitmaster Nestor Laracuente was on a mission to open up a new BBQ joint, a joint that would clearly draw a new line for BBQ in Fairfield County. When we discovered theBrooklyn Pit Rat chose to open that joint in our very own Stamford, we were thankful AF we were on the right side of the line.

So while we were eager to get in there as soon as it opened, we like to give a restaurant a few weeks to work the kinks out before we review. As you can imagine, the suspense was killing us, even more so because we follow their hot, meaty, BBQ porn laden Instagram account . . . ooooh yeaaaahhh . . . ok, we digress. So yes, we finally dropped in with our friend Nicole and her friend Justin and took down pretty much EVERYTHING from cocktails, to sides, to apps, and of course to the MEATS. So, let’s break it on down:Continue reading →

Big, bold flavors perfectly executed. Fun and lively vibes. That’s what we took away from a recent visit to Tablao, a new Spanish-Mediterranean tapas and wine bar that opened at 86 Washington Street in SoNo back in May. In fact, we enjoyed it so much we can’t wait to go back to this hotspot again. What made it such a nice experience, exactly? Well, you’ll just need to read our review to find out.Continue reading →

It’s important to have goals in life. For some people it’s a successful career, for others it’s to buy a home, or perhaps for some, it’s to travel the world. All those goals are awesome, but we like to focus on smaller, more immediately gratifying goals on our path to those bigger goals. You know, like getting our asses out of bed before hitting snooze for a 3rd time, or hitting Tree House on a rare can release, and, well a loooong list of #foodgoals of course!

Miro Kitchen is right on Black Rock Tpk.

Well, after we met Chef Chris Gonzalez last year when he started up Hapa Food Truck, we knew his new restaurant, Miro Kitchen in Fairfield, had to be at the top of our #foodgoals list.Continue reading →

In 2012, Claudio and Silvy Ridolfi opened Cotto at 51 Bank Street where Tappo used to be. This quickly became a go-to spot for people who wanted some pizza, some Italian . . . and well, of course, some wine. Seeing this success, they recently took over the former spot of Patrizia’s, a few buildings over on Main Street. Like Patrizia’s, they have pizza, but they also focus on smaller plates, burgers, and their beer list. And, with this new concept and location, Barrel House was born.Continue reading →

Have you ever gone to another country, sat down at a nice restaurant, then realize you have no idea what the hell is on the menu because it’s not in English? And at this point you’re all excited because this is what you wanted, a legit cultural experience (no English menus with pictures for you, no way), but at the same time you’re terrified you might order the fried beetles or something like that? Yeah, that’s how we felt when we sat down to eat with our friends Kirk and Nicole at Teff, an Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurant that recently opened in Stamford.

Sure, we’ve tried a lot of different foods in our day, but we had never had Ethiopian before, so we weren’t entirely sure what to expect. What we did know from a little pre-research is that instead of utensils, you rip off bits of special injera (crepe-like, spongy, and gluten-free made from the teff grain) and use them to scoop up your food. Aside from that, we really knew nothing, and that kind of excited us.

Immediately, we were put at ease by our waiter who took us through the menu and answered all of our questions. Speaking of the menu, it’s very interesting and so unlike any other type of restaurant. There are just two injera-based appetizers on the menu, the rest are portions of meat, veggies, stews, and sautees that come in platters on top of the injera. Most of the dishes are cooking for hours before you even get there at a pre-determined spice level, but if you order a “Tibs” dish, which are made to order, you get the option of mild, medium, or spicy (which actually isn’t too spicy at all). And, even with less options than we’re used to at other restaurants, there is sure to be something that appeals to you, even if you’re gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, or vegan.

Dan went with the Siga Altecha and the Dorho Wat for his meat entrees, and the Shiro, Dinich, and Ful as his three sides for ordering the meat tasting. What are those, you might ask? Read on Omnomivores, read on . . .

The steak was amazingly fragrant and had a nice undertone of butter and spices. There was a mild heat going on here, too, which made the meat even better. Some of the pieces were a bit closer to well-done rather than rare (most other cultures cook their meat more than us bloody steak loving Americans), but overall a great choice.

Dorho Wat: tender pieces of chicken leg and thigh slow-simmered in a spicy sauce seasoned with spices and herbs.

This is where it was at! Man, that chicken just fell right off the bone with a simple tug of the fork. And, in terms of flavor, awesome. It was rich, decadent, and had a nice spice level to it.

Shiro: pureed split peas cooked with red onions and garlic (mild.)

So silky smooth. Great by itself with some injera, or it was also nice to add with some of the steak or chicken. Cross pollination all the way.

Dinich: potatoes and cabbage simmered in a spicy sauce seasoned with spices and herbs (medium.)

Probably Dan’s least favorite. It was good, but needed some more flavor and salt. Still, it was good to mix it up with the other dishes.

Ful: fava beans slow-simmered with garlic and cumin topped with a colorful medley of red onions, tomatoes, and jalapenos, tossed with olive oil.

This was a great choice and had a burst of flavors like tangy, spicy, starchy, and acidic.

Kristien ordered the Bey’geh Tibs (spicy) and picked the Ingudai Tibs (medium) and Kik Aletcha as her two vegan sides.

The lamb was nice and tender as it should be and the sauce was well-balanced with acidity from the tomato, a kick from the jalapeño, and a richness from the butter. And it had just the right amount of spices to give the dish a unique and distinct taste, without overpowering. Very delicious.

This ended up serving as a great sort of condiment (like the consistency of hummus) to bring the two other parts of this dish together. With every piece of injeri, Kristien would grab a bit of this mild, rich, and creamy dish and then add the meat and veggies on top. It worked REALLY well.

Final Thoughts

Eating at Teff was a fun, interactive, and nomworthy experience that we definitely recommend. The food was excellent, the service was fantastic, prices were affordable ($120 for four people!) and the free BYOB experience can’t be beat. But, you best bring in all your bottles soon if that’s your style because they’ll soon have craft cocktails, world wines, and African beer starting on 3/30. Even still, BYOB will continue, but there will be a corkage fee of $25. All in, we are super excited to go back to try more dishes. You should most definitely dig on in, too!

Sometimes you just need to hit that restart button on your diet. . . especially, oh say, after a deeply gluttonous vacation in Lake Placid and Vermont jam packed with beer, bourbon, bbq, burgers, Bloody Marys and bacon. Luckily, there’s b.good a couple of miles from us, which makes it easy for us to be good after our trip . . . especially when they have delivery. BOOM!Continue reading →

We’re going to resist the temptation to make pho puns for this entire review. Why? Because our meal was so fucking good (not PHOking good) that puns just wouldn’t do it justice. Ok, so let’s see if we can do this . . .

But, we were starting to feel like posers, recommending the place to everyone, even though we haven’t been back since. We know, bad food bloggers! So, when Basso Cafe went from a BYOB only establishment, to a full-on bar, we figured that was the perfect time to get back there and try their creative cocktails with some friends. Oh, and eat, because, you know, it’s always good to eat when downing large quantities of liquor. Continue reading →

Forgive us readers, for we have sinned. It has been far too long since our last visit to South End Uncorked over the summer when we tried their cocktails and we must confess, we were complete idiots to wait this long. Why? Because (spoiler alert) it’s amazing! Not that we had any doubt since we’ve experienced the magicof Chef (and owner) Nick Martschenko and Director of Operations and mixologist extraordinaire Michelle Mauro at their other New Canaan restaurant, South End. Continue reading →